Characterization of chromosome structures of Falconinae (Falconidae, Falconiformes, Aves) by chromosome painting and delineation of chromosome rearrangements during their differentiation

Karyotypes of most bird species are characterized by around 2n = 80 chromosomes, comprising 7–10 pairs of large- and medium-sized macrochromosomes including sex chromosomes and numerous morphologically indistinguishable microchromosomes. The Falconinae of the Falconiformes has a different karyotype from the typical avian karyotype in low chromosome numbers, little size difference between macrochromosomes and a smaller number of microchromosomes. To characterize chromosome structures of Falconinae and to delineate the chromosome rearrangements that occurred in this subfamily, we conducted comparative chromosome painting with chicken chromosomes 1–9 and Z probes and microchromosome-specific probes, and chromosome mapping of the 18S–28S rRNA genes and telomeric (TTAGGG) n sequences for common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) (2n = 52), peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) (2n = 50) and merlin (Falco columbarius) (2n = 40). F. tinnunculus had the highest number of chromosomes and was considered to retain the ancestral karyotype of Falconinae; one and six centric fusions might have occurred in macrochromosomes of F. peregrinus and F. columbarius, respectively. Tandem fusions of microchromosomes to macrochromosomes and between microchromosomes were also frequently observed, and chromosomal locations of the rRNA genes ranged from two to seven pairs of chromosomes. These karyotypic features of Falconinae were relatively different from those of Accipitridae, indicating that the drastic chromosome rearrangements occurred independently in the lineages of Accipitridae and Falconinae

Cold plasma on full-thickness cutaneous wound accelerates healing through promoting inflammation, re-epithelialization and wound contraction

We investigated cold plasma effects on acute wounds of mice. The mice were classified into experimental and control groups. In the former, wounds were treated using cold plasma once daily for 1 min, and then covered with hydrocolloid dressing; wounds in the control were left to heal under hydrocolloid dressing. Daily evaluation was conducted for 15 days. General and specific staining was applied to evaluate re-epithelialization, neutrophil, macrophage, myofibroblast and transforming growth factor beta. It was found that cold plasma accelerated wound healing by 1 day. Plasma may promote the late phase of inflammation, accelerate re-epithelialization and increase wound contraction. © 2014 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved

A Simple Technique to Improve Contractile Effect of Cold Plasma Jet on Acute Mouse Wound by Dropping Water

A simple technique is tested to improve the contractile effect of a cold plasma jet on acute wounds of mice. Distilled water on the order of microliters is dropped onto wounds before treatment. To assess the fate of the water, an infrared thermal imager is applied. To evaluate the healing effect, macroscopic and immunohistological studies are conducted. Regarding the wound contractile effect, we show that combination treatment of plasma with dropped water seemed to have a greater effect than plasma treatment alone. Plasma may modify the wound surface through such water, chemically and physically. The histological stiffness of the wound surface during maturation and remodeling, however, may also influence the fate of the water during treatment. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

Ethanolic extract of the natural product of Daun sirih (Piper betle) leaves may impede the effectiveness of the plasma jet contact style for acute wounds

Purpose: An investigation was carried out to determine the effect of an ethanolic extract of the natural product of Daun sirih or Piper betle leaves on the effectiveness of plasma jet treatment for cutaneous acute wound healing in a small animal model mimicking a clinical setting. Method: An atmospheric plasma jet using medical grade argon gas as a carrier gas was developed. The ethanolic extract of Piper betle leaf (EPB) was formulated. Optical emission spectroscopy and chemical methods were applied to evaluate the presence of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) in the gas phase and in aqueous and ethanolic media. Small animals were classified into 5 groups, namely, Control (C), Plasma jet (P), Ethanolic extract of Piper betle leaf (EPB), Plasma jet followed by EPB (P-EPB) and EPB followed by plasma jet (EPB-P). The contact and meander styles of plasma jet treatment for wounds were applied daily on acute wounds for 1 min, either alone or before or after EPB treatments. Visual evaluation of wounds was conducted for 14 days. Microscopic evaluation was conducted on days 7, 11 and 14. General staining, namely, haematoxylin-eosin and Azan staining, was conducted to evaluate neoepithelialisation and new collagen formation. Results: This research showed that wound healing in the P group was faster than that in the other groups, while that in groups containing EPB was the same as that in C. In the P group, the number of days to reach peak inflammation was the fewest. On day 7, neoepithelialisation and new collagen formation in P were significantly higher than those in other groups. Conclusion: Plasma jet treatment alone is able to promote inflammation, neoepithelialisation and new collagen formation to accelerate acute wound healing; however, its admixture with EPB may impede such effectiveness. Based on the characterization of the ROS and RNS results, the ethanol solvent may play a primary role in impeding its effectiveness

When plasma jet is effective for chronic wound bacteria inactivation, is it also effective for wound healing?

Purpose: This investigation aimed to compare the effectiveness of two styles of plasma jet treatment (i.e., contact and non-contact styles) for two biological materials, namely, wound related bacteria and acute wounds. Method: An atmospheric plasma jet operated at a frequency of 18.32 kHz and high AC voltage with a peak-topeak voltage of 9.58 kV and a current of 55.2 mA was applied. Argon gas was used as the carries gas of plasma jet generation and was fixed at a flow rate of 1 standard liters per minute (slm).Two biological materials (i.e., wound related bacteria and acute wound) were applied as experimental objects. The sample groups were based on the two styles of plasma jet treatment: contact and non-contact styles. Microbial inhibition zone calculation and macroscopic and histological observations were also performed. Results: This investigation emphasized that the contact and non-contact styles of plasma jet treatment had significantly different effects for wounds and wound-related chronic bacteria. On the one hand, the contact style was visually attractive and more effective for inactivate bacteria. On the other hand, it caused negative effects, such as damaging normal tissue, significantly impeding wound healing and impeding the growing of new epithelial tissue. The non-contact style, however, was less effective at inactivating bacteria; however, it could accelerate wound healing. Conclusion: In the context of wound healing, the non-contact style of plasma jet treatment may be better than the contact style of plasma jet treatment

Sponge Cytogenetics — Mitotic Chromosomes of Ten Species of Freshwater Sponge

Porifera (sponges) are the most basal phylum of extant metazoans. To gain insight into sponge genome construction, cytogenetic analysis was performed for ten freshwater sponge species of six genera, using conventional Giemsa staining, chromosome banding, and fluorescence in-situ hybridization. The karyotypes were very similar among the ten species, exhibiting a diploid chromosome number of 2n=46 or 48, and usually consisted of microchromosomes with one or two pairs of large chromosomes. The 18S-28S rRNA genes were localized to a single pair of microchromosomes in two Ephydatia species. Hybridization signals of the telomere (TTAGGG)n sequences were observed at the ends of metaphase chromosomes. The genome sizes of Ephydatia fluviatilis and Ephydatia muelleri were estimated by flow cytometric analysis as about 0.7 pg per diploid complement. These freshwater sponge species appear to represent a fairly homogeneous group with respect to karyotypes

Comparison of the Z and W sex chromosomal architectures in elegant crested tinamou (Eudromia elegans) and ostrich (Struthio camelus) and the process of sex chromosome differentiation in palaeognathous birds.

To clarify the process of avian sex chromosome differentiation in palaeognathous birds, we performed molecular and cytogenetic characterization of W chromosome-specific repetitive DNA sequences for elegant crested tinamou (Eudromia elegans, Tinamiformes) and constructed comparative cytogenetic maps of the Z and W chromosomes with nine chicken Z-linked gene homologues for E. elegans and ostrich (Struthio camelus, Struthioniformes). A novel family of W-specific repetitive sequences isolated from E. elegans was found to be composed of guanine- and cytosine-rich 293-bp elements that were tandemly arrayed in the genome as satellite DNA. No nucleotide sequence homologies were found for the Struthioniformes and neognathous birds. The comparative cytogenetic maps of the Z and W chromosomes of E. elegans and S. camelus revealed that there are partial deletions in the proximal regions of the W chromosomes in the two species, and the W chromosome is more differentiated in E. elegans than in S. camelus. These results suggest that a deletion firstly occurred in the proximal region close to the centromere of the acrocentric proto-W chromosome and advanced toward the distal region. In E. elegans, the W-specific repeated sequence elements were amplified site-specifically after deletion of a large part of the W chromosome occurred

cDNA-based gene mapping and GC3 profiling in the soft-shelled turtle suggest a chromosomal size-dependent GC bias shared by sauropsids

Mammalian and avian genomes comprise several classes of chromosomal segments that vary dramatically in GC-content. Especially in chicken, microchromosomes exhibit a higher GC-content and a higher gene density than macrochromosomes. To understand the evolutionary history of the intra-genome GC heterogeneity in amniotes, it is necessary to examine the equivalence of this GC heterogeneity at the nucleotide level between these animals including reptiles, from which birds diverged. We isolated cDNAs for 39 protein-coding genes from the Chinese soft-shelled turtle, Pelodiscus sinensis, and performed chromosome mapping of 31 genes. The GC-content of exonic third positions (GC3) of P. sinensis genes showed a heterogeneous distribution, and exhibited a significant positive correlation with that of chicken and human orthologs, indicating that the last common ancestor of extant amniotes had already established a GC-compartmentalized genomic structure. Furthermore, chromosome mapping in P. sinensis revealed that microchromosomes tend to contain more GC-rich genes than GC-poor genes, as in chicken. These results illustrate two modes of genome evolution in amniotes: mammals elaborated the genomic configuration in which GC-rich and GC-poor regions coexist in individual chromosomes, whereas sauropsids (reptiles and birds) refined the chromosomal size-dependent GC compartmentalization in which GC-rich genomic fractions tend to be confined to microchromosomes